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Anglophile
Woodrow Wilson
a lover of Britain, British Parliament (Prime Minister =
what he says goes
believe the president should get what he wants
president = dominant branch
TERM 2
Executive Force Theory
DEFINITION 2
Teddy Roosevelt
president can do anything that there is no provision
against
president = dominant branch
TERM 3
Pluralist Model
DEFINITION 3
primus inta paris- first among equals
president = only slightly more dominant than legislature
president still has to bargain with congress
TERM 4
Constitutional Balance Model/Literary Theory
DEFINITION 4
President = legislature (have equal powers)
TERM 5
Whig Model
DEFINITION 5
congress = dominant branch > original intention of
Constitution writers
Unified Government
President and Congress = same party >President is in more
powerful position
Obama more successful in first 2 years
Johnson (unified all 4 years) more successful than Nixon
(divided all 4 years)
TERM 7
Bipartisan Arrangement
DEFINITION 7
Conservative Coalition > Southern Democrats + Republicans
Conservative president is more likely to be successful
Liberal president more likely to struggle
TERM 8
Condor Theory
DEFINITION 8 Congress should receive proposals from the president and pass them through Public tends to view the exec branch as more legitimate; therefore, what the president wants, congress should give him when there is conflict between he branches, approval of congress decreases Electoral Mandate - president's power given by the whole country TERM 9
Deliberative Role
DEFINITION 9
Congress may look into the president's views, may follow it,
may kill programs, may make a lot of changes > FREE to do
what they want
Exception: COngress rarely goes against budget plans;
except now?
TERM 10
Determining President's Success w/
Congress
DEFINITION 10 President centered interpretation - look at the leadership skills of the president (personality, authority, etc.) Congress centered interpretation - dependent on whether congress is dominated by presdient's part or what the ideological median of congress is Timing - beginning > more successful; basically sitting duck towards end of 2nd term
Bargaining Tactics of the President
President has more at his disposal to hand out favors; INSIDE With partisans - visit from president during election time can get you more money (only helpful when president is popular in your area) With opposition - if you vote with the president, he may promise not to campaign against you More likely to utilize when their is opposition against proposal EX) King targeted by Bush admin; refused to be persuaded; Pentagon took away access to aircraft and military support for his troop to Iraq which had previously been cleared TERM 17
"Going Public"
DEFINITION 17 OUTSIDE strategy using the media and constituents to gain support involves going around congress > may piss congress off Activities may include: TV prime time addresses, press conferences, domestic and foreign travel, exclusive interviews, timely leaks, etc. Advantage because: technological advances, reaches wide audience, declining presidential coattail effect (less bargaining), expertise advantage has weakened, budgetary constraints TERM 18
Signing
Statements
DEFINITION 18
Written by president as he is signing it into law
President reveals how he feels about the legislation
Allows president to interpret law however he wants
May circumscribe what congress was actually trying to
implement
TERM 19
High profile endorsements
DEFINITION 19
May call upon past presidents to gain support for an issue
NAFTA - media event where every living ex-president
endorses it
AWAX - Reagan wanted to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia,
got two presidents to endorse it
TERM 20
OMB
DEFINITION 20 Office of Management and Budget Legislation is often brought to OMB by committees to see how the president might feel about it > may influence how they pursue passage May end up killing the bill, if president will definitely not compromise Reviews enacted legislation and gives president recommendation Prepare the congressional testimony of exec branch officials to ensure consistency with president's policy goals
Recess Appointment
President can appoint someone while congress is not in
session
only temporary > may be removed after 1 year or at the
end of the session if congress chooses not to confirm it
Usually only done when congress is trying to block an
appointment
TERM 22
President's Popularity
DEFINITION 22 Relation to the president may have reelection consequences Partisan of Popular President - threat that a fellow member of the party will challenge you in next election if you are seen as voting against president > not behind the president Unpopular President - want to distance yourself so that you are not seen as a carbon copy of president (Bush and Republicans) Popular president can expect support from own party and crossover TERM 23
Score Card
DEFINITION 23
Used by Governor Roy Barnes to make sure his fellow
partisans were voting with him
TERM 24
President's Success in Each Chamber
DEFINITION 24 House Foreign rather than domestic during 1st year of presidency president's party dominates congress when they are trying to achieve a lot Senate congress dominated by president's party when there are large #s of freshmen Most influence overall at the beginning of terms or in times of crisis TERM 25
Sequencing
DEFINITION 25 President must be careful about sequencing; cannot present all of his objectives at once; congress needs more guidance Congress has a finite capacity to produce major legislation quickly Admin has limited ability to formulate detailed proposals, lobby congres,s and negotiate compromises for the first few months president unable to generate media attention and public support for more than a few proposals at a time
Legislative Veto
when congress passes a law, but with strings attached
if they don't like what the agency is doing, they can yank
it back
Supreme Court declared this unconstitutional because it
violated the separation of powers > congress must
rewrite legislation
TERM 32
Gridlock
DEFINITION 32
Biggest problem associated with divided government
Disputed whether there is actual a difference/problem
TERM 33
Agency vs. President
DEFINITION 33
Congress is most likely to side with Agencies
Agencies are around longer than presidents > may have
built relationships
Iron Triangle
Agencies may leak information to assist congress in
waging war
When there is no conflict, however, congress is more likely to
be influenced by the President, than by agencies
TERM 34
Appropriations
DEFINITION 34 Congress has power of the purse the constitutional provision that "no money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law" can kill a program simply by refusing to fund it Nixon wanted to send troops to Cambodia; congress writes that none of the money could be put towards this TERM 35
Allotment of
Staff
DEFINITION 35 House Member can have no more than 18 permanent workers, 4 temporary, and interns
of staff does not depend on seniority
Senate Funding for staff based on size of state > bigger states given more room; no limit on # Staff has grown > more than 4400 in senate Spending bill specifies how much you spend on personal staff; MRA makes it more flexible
Staff Positions
Legislative assistants - PR, economic, defense, suggest how members should vote does reading and briefs members; may write legislation; anticipate amendments Legislative Director - supervises the policy staff Scheduler Caseworker - located in district usually Correspondence - respond to letters Chief of Staff - knows more about district; important overseeing of entire operation Fiscal Manager Staff Assistant - lowest ranking member Approximately 40% of staff lives in district/state (more at home w/ freshmen > more worried about reelection) TERM 37
Influence of
Staff
DEFINITION 37 Congressmen hire people who agree with them May neglect the fact that they do the briefing of the member, read the bills and committee reports > can reveal what they want if members and constituents have no opinion, may look to staff staff is more important to freshmen who don't know what they're doing (staff has expertise > give advice) Kingdon says > have no influence Others > too much influence, isolate member, serve as gatekeeper TERM 38
Committee
Staff
DEFINITION 38
Have a lot more freedom; more specialized on certain issues;
more opportunities to become lobbyists
Senate - each member has 2 staffers for committees
House - staff differs on pecking order/place in committee
TERM 39
CRS
DEFINITION 39
Congressional Research Service
Sole purpose is to provide research to legislative
committees
Have about 800 staff
Can get what you need to know fast
TERM 40
GAO
DEFINITION 40
General Accountability Office
has thousands working for it
information not instantaneous
committees or members can request for studies to be
done > helpful with oversight
Party Committees
Each party has a committee on committees; decide assignments based on... Seniority - used to be only standard Reelection - want member to stay in office; put in a place that won't alienate constituents Expertise in Field Popularity - want to move from reelection to priority committee Loyalty - if you are a marginal voter, less likely to get priority TERM 47
Theories about the make-up of Committees in
comparison to Chamber
DEFINITION 47
Preference Outliers - committees tend to be extreme in that
they don't represent the chamber as a whole in their
preference; regionally want to be on certain committees;
always protecting own objectivesRepresentative of the larger
body - they are appreciative of their placement, so they vote
the way the whole chamber would want
TERM 48
Johnson Rule
DEFINITION 48
You can only get one premier assignment, unless everyone
else in your party has gotten one; then you may get a
second
TERM 49
# of Committees
DEFINITION 49
Standing - 20 in House and 17 in Senate
Also have Joint and sub
incentive of having lots of committees > more chairs
(chairs get offices)
GA has more committees than congress > same
incentives
TERM 50
Power of
Chairs
DEFINITION 50 Chairs rise up through seniority (used to be most senior member of the majority party regardless of how they performed) Chairs decide scheduling (don't have to deal with things they don't want to) After 1975, reduced power of chairs > big year for Democrats = lots of freshmen; passed legislation limiting the number of years you could chair a committee, knowing out a lot of senior members May feel responsibility to president's agenda (same party)
Stages of Committee Involvement
Deliberation - involves markup, gathering data, holding
hearings; details are fought out in committeeDecision - on
the floor, committees come together as a united force,
fighting against those who are trying to change their bills
If there are going to be successful amendments, they are
supposed to originate in committee
TERM 52
Ways that Committees have
weakened
DEFINITION 52 Subcommittee Bill of Rights High profile legislation no longer under committee > exec Multiple referrals (Speaker) > sequential w/ time limits More assertive membership Increasingly polarized party leadership; stronger party leadership Committee chairs elected by party's caucus > must be loyal Can only be chair for up to 6 years (3 terms) not dems TERM 53
Conferees
DEFINITION 53 Responsible for resolving differences of the bills passed in chambers Each committee that was involved in the bill will have conferees Conference report requires majority of house and senate conferees chair may sabotage committee by sending conferees against democrats require that majority of conferees voted for bill conferees have the ability to pull legislation in a direction TERM 54
GA Conference Committees
DEFINITION 54
3 Senate and 3 house members on budget bill conference
committee
Lieutenant governor names conferees
Historically conference committee included majority party
leaders, but since majority party has taken away much of
the power from the lieutenant governor, this is no longer
the case
TERM 55
Iron Law of Oligarchy
DEFINITION 55
most members have limited participation in committees; few
members actuality become heavily involved; they are the
ones who show up, ask questions and propose amendments
may be because of expertise
because of concern of constituents
Only a handful of the players on committee actual participate
greatly
The Role of a Leader
Great Men Model - must do something extraordinary Principal Agent Theory - leaders have to promote the objectives of the rank-and-file instead of promoting only their own agendas, in order to maintain control Conditional Agent - leader does have some greater lateral; doesn't have to do exactly what the rank-and-file want Easier to be a strong leader if you push your own agenda If party is divided, much harder to lead TERM 62
Speaker of the House
DEFINITION 62 Can remove and replace conferees and members on the rules committee at any time w/o approval of chamber refer bills to committees; multiple referrals power to speak last on the floor > used infrequently for only really important things to remain effective don't have to recognize members if they don't want to chooses who rules over the Committee of the Whole will frequently meet w/ the president especially of same party meet with the press TERM 63
Majority Leader (Senate)
DEFINITION 63 Talks with the president puts together the unanimous consent agreements (closest thing to rule on House side) as leader of the chamber, consults w/ speaker > may be able to bypass committees right of First Recognition does not typically preside meets w/ press, tries to influence public attitude/stir up support works with minority leader (especially w/ unanimous consent) TERM 64
Majority Leader (House)
DEFINITION 64
Speaker in training/understudy; isn't actually majority
leader
sets the agenda
does dirty work for members
works on campaigns
spokesperson for the party > may vote early to set the
tone for the party
TERM 65
Whips
DEFINITION 65 Head-counts for polls responsible for arm-twisting information network > finds out rank-and-file opinions; reports back party position to rank-and-file identifies members on the fence of votes w/ plan to change whip notice - comes out on Thurs. says plans for week whip packet - comes out on Fri. contains copies of legislation, committee report, synopsis of hearings, etc. gives speaking points for members returning to district
Leadership Styles
Johnson Treatment - approached members directly, in your face, very authoritative; Johnson most successful senate leader > reputation of getting things done (Umbrella man - senator w/ reputation; if voted certain way, others follow) Robert Byrd - mainly did small favors; slow things down to accommodate his voters The Czars - (House) ruled w/ an iron hand; not consensus leaders; control over committee assignments and chairs; if you wanted anything you had to do what they said or you'd be punished TERM 67
Party Affiliation
DEFINITION 67 Most people, most often vote w/ party elected on party label, part of a partisan caucus, probably hang out with fellow partisans whips making sure they are voting w/ party constituents only thing that makes members vote against party usually > party doesn't want to pressure members who will get hurt in reelection by constituents more partisan congress = harder to make coalition = party needs every member's vote TERM 68
Cohesiveness of Parties
DEFINITION 68 Mosre cohesive if members are more representative of their district party wise (unlike southern Dem) More freshmen > easier to manipulate into voting on party line committee chair who is going against party leadership gives cover to other members to go against party > more chair turnover, have to be loyal to party or not reelected Varies on subject matter? TERM 69
Partisanship, Regions, & Voting Alignments:
Welfare
DEFINITION 69 Conservative coalition 20s - 60s SD on winning side either w/ republicans or democrats After WWII SD aligned w/ party SD only voted w/ party 2/3 of time after Johnson Admin Civil Rights movement caused shift back towards liberal because blacks were registering as democrats in the south FLSA (Fair Labor Sales Act) - SD aligned w/ Rep; wanted to keep cheap labor advantage, so manufacturers move southNE Rep - often split TERM 70
Partisanship, Regions, & Voting Alignments:
Government Management
DEFINITION 70 In beginning, SD more liberal than ND after WWII, SD peels off > no longer crisis Kennedy-Johnson era - 2/3s of the time SD were voting w/ Democrats Nixon era - conservative coalition strengthen in favor of less restriction of government Late 70s switch > southerners did not like the added regulations (government had too much power); EPA > limited land capabilities, Consumer productions > food labels, Occupational Health Safety Act > rules about work place
New Hampshire GA
Constituents (by a long shot)
Interest groups
Colleagues
*Have over 400 legislators; don't get any pay; high turnover
> don't know which colleagues to trust; probably know all of
their constituents already
TERM 77
Pennsylvania GA
DEFINITION 77
Colleagues
and 3. Interest Groups/Constituents
*Considered most like congress
TERM 78
Specialist
Cues
DEFINITION 78 means you're on the committee > IRON TRIANGLE Staff (committee, not personal) Exec Branch (most likely the DOT) Interest groups Constituents (know about the issue, don't need constituent input; may explain view to constituents though) Colleagues CRS/GAO Reports Of no influence: committee Reports and Whip/DSG packets TERM 79
Non-Specialist
Cues
DEFINITION 79
Colleagues > people on the committee who know more
about the legislation
Constituents (depends on amount of mail)
Whip/DSG packets > party leadership influence
Staff
Interest Groups
Committee reports
Exec Branch
CRS?GAO Reports
TERM 80
Overall Importance of Administration
DEFINITION 80 Given more credit for their role in decision making than the data revealed more important towards the end than in the beginning has less influence with opposing party members Antipathy - Admin view congressmen as rearranging and even ruining programs, too political; congressmen view the bureaucrats as not being sympathetic too their problems, too rigid; distrust and suspicion
Admin party differences
Admin wields more influence w/ own party > worked on
the same campaign
Distrust of the opposition > fully prepared to undercut the
administration and the president's followers
When president is of your party, more inclined to help
them out; no such feelings for opposition party
TERM 82
Administration Strategies
DEFINITION 82 Similar to Interest groups > seek influence; may use constituenciesLoyalty and prestige > point is to persuade; party = easiest target Direct - into halls outside the floor, speak to the House as a whole, meeting or calls with the president (last resort), set apart from interest groups bc of prestige Fellow Congressmen - party leadership of president's party, or through loyal congressmen Mass Media - more available than to interest groups, president's press conference Information advantage > has been decreasing TERM 83
Negotiating Treaties and International
Agreements
DEFINITION 83
Exec initiates action
Senate must approve (2/3)
President dependent on House for appropriations of
necessary funds or to modify domestic law to comply with
treaty terms
unusual for president's treaty to fail or be changed
TERM 84
Adjournment veto
DEFINITION 84
Similar to pocket veto in that it involves the president
choosing not to sign a bill; in this case, congress must have
adjourned prior to the end of the 10 day period allotted to
the president for passage; if the president chooses not to
sign the bill in this case, the bill is killed.
TERM 85
Public Expectations for the Presidency
DEFINITION 85 Expect presidential leadership on matters of national importance Began after WWII > given more responsibility increased media attention President = most visible elected official President and presidential candidates make policy commitments Attracts political support public commitments > policy objectives > public pressure on Congress Approval Ratings More likely to do what pop president wants; not all powerful
US vs. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp
Ruling asserted that even if extensive powers over foreign
affairs were not spelled out for the president in the
constitution, the president is most suited
TERM 92
1947 National Security Act
DEFINITION 92
consolidated control of the military in a single defense
department and created CIA and National Security Council >
all directors under the president
TERM 93
Iran-Contra Affair
DEFINITION 93
Admin sold arms to Iranians in an effort to release
American hostages
Used money from sales to support Contra in Nicaragua
All actions were secret and not approved by Congress
Congress is weary of intelligence agencies and being kept
out of the loop; however it is sometimes necessary
TERM 94
White House
Staff
DEFINITION 94 President controls size of staff, but subject to congressional appropriations expanded in recent decades, particularly in offices for legislative affairs, communications and domestic and foreign policy OMB became very powerful in 1970 Allows president to monitor and communicate with congress, lobbyists, media and others TERM 95
Zero-Sum Theory
DEFINITION 95
If president is losing power, congress is gaining power
Too simplistic; neither branch is monolithic
In general, congress maintains a lesser view in
comparison to the President
Permanent Authorization
Most agencies and programs have continued indefinitely
since their creation (most laws regarding them are
permanent)
Must receive annual appropriations from congress > if not
given money, may not be able to continue
Recently, congress has made a move to limit
authorization
TERM 97
Designing
Agencies
DEFINITION 97 Factors: line of authority, decision-making and appeal procedures, descion-making criteria, rule-making deadlines, reporting requirements, job definitions, personnel appointment processes and restrictions and salaries Legislators - seek to insulate agencies from future influences and maintain their own preferences Presidents - seek to place new programs under exec departments to which they can appoint loyal individuals EPA > department level; head = member of presidents cabinet Admin can fight program by refusing to hire personnel TERM 98
Committee Reports
DEFINITION 98
reports indicate the objective of the legislation and
sometimes interpret the language used, both of which may
guide rule-making decisions by agencies
TERM 99
Omnibus continuing
resolutions
DEFINITION 99 combine two or more regular appropriations bills for the coming fiscal year into one giant package required when congress and the president fail to appropriate bills enacted before the beginning of a new fiscal year if president vetoes bill which gives budget for a program, that program is shut down "must pass" bills TERM 100
Overall Importance of
Staff
DEFINITION 100 Congressmen have lots to read > staff does the reading > in position to withhold or furnish information, provide advice According to congressmen, staff has no influence More important to juniors &in competitive districts Objective agreement between congressmen and staff is usually high > hire/work for people you agree with When there is disagreement, staff is usually more liberal
of staff has greatly increased since 70s
Desire to be independent of party may increase importance of staff/reliance on staff
